What About Now ?
by sweetcrimefighter
Summary: AU Story She was so beautifull, so smart, so famous and so loved, Haley James. He's an athlete. He HOT as hell. He's Nathan Scott. Can two soulmates find each other at a talk show ? --Naley--
1. The Search For What Is Missing

**What About Now**

**The Search For What Is Missing**

She was so beautifull, so smart, so famous and so loved. But that wasn't enough. Something was missing in her life, something real she didn't have but had to have. What it was, she wasn't sure. She was sure of one thing, if she didn't find what was missing in her life, a part of her would feel empty forever.

She was setting in her dressing room. The make-up artists had just finished with her and now she was putting a small neckless of a cross on her neck. A silver cross, one she had gotten from her father, right before he died, 3 years ago.

There was a knock on the door, followed by a woman who was wearing a microphone, who opened the door.

"You're on in 5, Miss. James." The woman said, Haley nodded as she stood up and walked out of the room. She was standing backstage, waiting for her name to be called.

She watched as a young blonde woman with wavy long hair walked up the stage. The audiance stood up and gave her a big welcome.

"Welcome back to the 2nd season of _**Celebrity Visits**_. My name is Peyton Sawyer, and I'll be your host for the night and the whole season. we have a special treat for you." She said as she walked around, speaking, looking at the crowd, they loved her.

"Today we have 2 very special guests. Let's welcome our first guest." She said as the whole crowd waited to see who would come on stage.

The audience never knew who they would see on the show, but they knew one thing, whoever it was, Peyton Sawyer could always keep things interesting.

"She started her carreer as a singer, some of her more famous songs are _**'Feel This'**_, _**'Halo'**_, and _**'When The Stars Come Blue'**_. Those songs earned her fame over the entire world. Now she had added acting to her long list of achievements. Please welcome, Haley James!" Peyton introduced her. The audience went whild as Haley walked up the stage, shook Peyton hand and sat down. They had been waiting to see Haley since the last year, when the show started.

"Hello Haley. Thank you so much for coming on the show." Peyton said, smiling at Haley. She had gone through a lot of trouble to get her on the show.

"It's my pleasure.' Haley said, she felt a little akwurd, she almost never gave interviews and always refused to go on shows. But since this girl wouldn't stop persuing her for almost a year, Haley caved in.

"So, Haley, this is the first time you appeared on a live show. Why do you think that is ? Since it's known that you get dozens of offers for talk show every day." Peyton asked, getting right into the questions section. Haley had hoped they could do some small talk first.

"Euh, I guess I just don't feel so comfortable giving interviews that aren't just work related." Haley confessed, she knew she couldn't lie, she was like the worst liar in the history of liars.

"What made you decide to come on my show ?" Peyton asked, she was starting with some easy questions before she headed to the big stuff.

"Well, you were very persistant. If I recall you called me every day for about 6 months. I like that in a person, it shows you have passion in your work. So I decided, if I ever was gonna do a talk show, it might as well be with someone who shows great passion and dedication to her work." Haley replied, Peyton thanked her for the compliment, before continuing the next question.

"You started your carreer as a singer, a rather famous one too, now you're a movie star, how does that feel ?" Peyton asked, Haley was relieved she was asking her things about her work and not her personal life yet.

"I wouldn't exactly call myself a movie star. I'm still a singer first, I just happened to star in a movie. It was a great experience, but I wouldn't trade my singing for it." Haley said.

"So you don't want to act again ?" Peyton asked, hoping she'd say no, because she really liked seeing Haley on the big screen and wanted to see more of her.

"No, I love acting, I think since I did the movie, it became my second life's passion. But singing is and will forever remain my number one passion. And I'm not planning on giving that up for acting. Besides, I think I still have a lot to learn before I can be a good actress. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing when I shot my scenes. I'm still waiting for people to realize how bad I am in that movie." Haley confessed, letting out a faint smile.

"Bad ? Why do you think that ? There's already talk about an oscar for you part in the movie." Peyton said as she tried to figure out Haley, but couldn't.

"Oh, that, yeah, I've heard about that too. If it happens, good, but I'm not expecting an oscar for it. I think people are slightly overreacting. I wasn't what made this movie a hit. It were the cast and the directors and just the story itself made this movie work. I was just fortunate enough to be a part of it." Haley said, she wasn't trying to come over insecure, but that was what she thought, so that was what she said.

"Tell us more about your role." Peyton said.

"I play the main character Casey Stewart in the movie Second Chances. Casey is this young teenage girl who had lost her mother to cancer when she was 14. Now she's 16 and heading on the wrong path. She steals, drinks, even does a little bit of drugs. When she witnesses a murder one night after going home from a party, she has to run for her life. When she finds out the killers are after her next, she goes to the pollice, but they don't believe her. So she sets out to make things right herself. And that all I'm giving away, or you'd know the entire storyline and if you've not seen it yet, that's not so cool." Haley said, Peyton nodded.

"How did it happen that you auditioned for the role ?" Peyton asked, she was just warming Haley up for the big questions.

"I just got the call one day asking if I wanted to read the script and audition for the leading role. I thought it was a joke, I had never acted before. But they said they saw something in me that they hadn't seen in anyone else yet and that they desperate wanted me for the role. So I read the script and loved it from the first page. I auditioned for it and now I'm on the big screen." Haley said, Peyton smiled at her.

"I think we can skip the questions about your singing carreer, since you've talked about that enough in regular interviews." Peyton said, Haley aggreed and waited for the next question.

"Now on to some more serious stuff. You're 24, hot, smart, famous, why are you still single ?" Peyton asked, Haley sighed, she knew this would come up at some point.

"I'm just waiting for the right person, I guess." Haley said, not wanting to elaberate on it.

"What about Chris Keller ? You dated him for 2 years, wasn't he the right person ?" Peyton asked, Haley was boiling inside as soon as she heard Chris's name. She hated him for what he did to her.

"No, I guess he wasn't the right person." Haley said, trying to keep her calm, she almost never got angry in public, except when it came to Chris.

"Is it true that he cheated on you several times before you guys broke up ?" Peyton asked, she knew she was getting Haley angry, she always knew the right question to do that to a person.

"You should have to ask him. Anyways, that was 3 and a half years ago, not really relevant now, right ?" Haley said, catching Peyton off guard, no one ever had the nerve to shut her down like that, usually they got angry and walked of stage.

"I guess not, waw, look at the time, I think our next guest is ready to come out." Peyton said as she stood up, Haley stayed on the couch. It was a habit that all the stars stayed in their seats untill the show was over.

"He's 23 years old. He's an athlete. He HOT as hell. He's Nathan Scott!" Peyton yelled, making his entrence on the stage even more exiting than Haley's entrence. Haley had heard of him on the news, but knew not much about him.

He walked on the stage with a big attitude, Haley thought. As all the girls in the audience started to whistle, she rolled her eyes. Her first impression of Nathan was that he was a spoiled brat.

Instead of shaking Peyton's hand, he hugged her and as he softened his grip on her as he pulled back, he kissed her on the lips. The crowd went wild. They didn't even quiet down when he let her go.

"Cherry. Nice." Nathan smirked as he sat down next to Haley. He looked at her for a brief moment, nodded and looked back at Peyton. But before Peyton had even sat down, Haley found Nathan looking at her again.

"So, Nathan Scott, I guess I don't have to ask you if the rumors about you being a skirt chaser are true. You just proved that to me and my audience." Peyton said as she still had to contain herself from laughing.

"Just giving you a warm welcome." Nathan smirked, by which Haley fake coughed. Peyton looked at her curiously.

"Nathan, have you met Haley James ?" She said, introducing Haley, Nathan shook.

"Never heard of ya. No offense." Nathan said as he looked at her, Peyton was looking at Haley now too, waiting to hear her reply.

"Non taken. I've never heard of you either." She said as she smirked. She didn't know, but Nathan was slightly intreged by her. Would she be his next conquest ?

"Looks like we have a fisty pair sitting here. So, Nathan, basketball, what's it like to you ?" Peyton asked as she looked into his eyes.

"It's my life. I love it. I just happen to be famous because of it." Nathan said, winking at Peyton, Haley shook her head, Nathan didn't notice. Peyton was going to ask some easy questions first, but she had no choice, he had opened a door for her she couldn't close.

"But you didn't exactly become famous because of basketball, did you ? All though you're great." Peyton said, Nathan looked at her confused, not knowing what she meant. Haley was curious now too, as she looked from Peyton to Nathan.

"What's that supposed to mean ?" Nathan asked, not understanding. Haley could feel his heart beating faster as he looked at Peyton. She didn't know how she felt it, but she just did.

"Well, when you were 16 you got emmancipated because your father was convicted to serve two life sentences for the brutal murder of your pregnant mother." Peyton said, she enjoyed agrivating celebrities like that. Haley was shocked, she had never heard of that before.

Nathan didn't say anything, he had to use all of his mental power to stay quiet and not storm out and cause a scene.

"The press had a field day. You testifying against your father kept it in the media even longer. How do you feel about the fact that you helped throw your father into prisson ?" Peyton asked as she had this evil smile on her face. Haley was disgusted on how much she was enjoying this. If she had known this, she would have never come on the show.

She looked at Nathan, who was completely sillent. His eyes shot fire at Peyton as his hands were formed into fists, shaking because it probably took all the controll he had to keep his calm. Haley didn't know why she did what she did next, but she did it.

She opened her mouth, not knowing what she'd sing, when the words just flowed out of her mouth.

_'Don't Cry, Boy of mine._

_I'm right here by your side. _

_I'll stick with you,_

_if you let me to.'_

When she stopped singing, the audience clapped, Peyton was shocked, as Nathan looked at her, stunned. Why did she do that ? He didn't know why, maybe she was just crazy, but whatever reason she did it for, it helped him. He was much calmer now.

"What was that ?" Peyton asked, a little offended that Haley brought the attention of Nathan back to her, but a little suprised at the same time too.

"Oh, I suddenly had these lyrics in my head and I just had to sing them to heard if they'd make a good song. I do that a lot." Haley said, as she smirked at Peyton.

"Oh look, isn't it about time ?" Haley asked next when she looked on her watch, Peyton looked at the clock on the wall in the back and sighed. Because of Haley, this show turned out completely different then she had imagined.

But she nodded, smiled and stood up. She walked to the center of the stage and started to speak.

"Well, I guess that was it for tonight, folks. Hope to see you again on the next episode of _**Celebrity Visits**_. Goodnight!" She smiled and waved as the audience clapped and the curtain closed.

"If you ever cross me like that again, on my show, I'll kick your ass." Peyton adressed Haley, threatening her before walking of stage, pissed of.

"Issues..." Haley said to herself when Peyton was out of sight. She had always thought of her to be a nice person, appearantly she should have watched her show first. She was about to walk of stage herself when she heard her name.

"Haley ? Is it ?" Nathan asked as she turned around, she nodded.

"I just wanted to thank you." Nathan said as Haley raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're not gonna kiss me now too, are you ?" Haley asked, taking a step back. Nathan laughed.

"Oh, no, deffinately not. Not that you're not kissable, but no, I just wanna thank you." Nathan said, Haley had to try not to blush when he told her she was kissable.

"You're welcome." Haley said as she was about to turn around again, he stopped her again by asking another question. Haley turned around again.

"Do you wanna go to dinner ? Just as a thank you, you really saved my but out there. You can even bring a friend, I'll bring a friend too." Nathan said.

Haley thought this was just some pick up line of his, but since she could bring a friend, she was safe, so she accepted.

"I'd like that. Call me with the details. And don't forget your friend." Haley said as she gave Nathan the note with her phone number on it. Nathan didn't think anything romantic of her, sure she was hot, but this was just a thank you dinner, he thought, before walking of the stage himself.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Dinner, Walk In The Park, Kiss ?

**_A/N : Hi, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and read this story, it means a lot. There will be Brucas and Naley in this chapter. A lot of things happen, which will be further explored in future chapters. Oh, and this story won't have much Peyton in it, she just doesn't fit in it much, sorry for the Peyton fans out there. Enjoy this chapter!_**

* * *

**Dinner, Walk In The Park, Kiss ?**

Haley had just gotten home about half an hour ago when her phone rang, she picked it up.

"Hello ?" She said in a soft tone, but startled slightly when she heard the voice on the other line.

"Haley ? It's Nathan. I'm calling about dinner." He said.

_'Oh, right, dinner, almost forgot, thought he wouldn't call.' _Haley thought to herself before she replied.

"Yeah, dinner, with us and our friends. What about it ?" Haley asked, she realized it sounded a little blunt as soon as it came out. By a sigh on the other side of the phone, she heard that Nathan had noticed that too.

"Euh, yeah, I was wondering if tomorow night would be fine with you ?" He asked, Haley thought about it and came to the conclusion she had no obligations tomorrow night.

"Sure, what time ?" Haley asked as she waited for a reply.

"Nine pm at Saint Luke's." Nathan said, Haley had to try her best not to laugh.

"Saint Luke's ? Where's that ?" Haley asked, she knew she had heard of it several times before, but she couldn't place where.

"Just a place I know, I'll text message you the adress. See you tomorrow." Nathan said, Haley said her goodbye before they both hung up the phone.

She emmediately dialled a number on her cell phone that she knew by heart.

"B. Davis here." The voice on the other side said, Haley smiled, she was glad she had picked up her phone.

"Hey, Brooke, It's Hales. Are you available to come with me somewhere tomorow night ?" Haley asked, hoping Brooke would say yes. Brooke was Haley's best friend, she had been for a little over two years now.

Brooke was a famous clothes designer, her compiny was named Clothes over Bros. Haley had met her when she needed a dress for the Grammy Awards, somehow they clicked and became best friends from there.

"Yeah, I'm free. What are we doing ?" Brooke asked.

"Dinner with Nathan Scott and a friend of his." Haley replied, she heard Brooke gasp for air.

"Nathan Scott ? As in thé Nathan Scott ?" Brooke asked with disbelief.

"Yes, why ?" Haley asked, confused why Brooke was all wound up.

"He is like so totally delicious. Ooh, maybe his friend will be hot too... Gotta go now, bye." Brooke said and with that hung up the phone. Haley rolled her eyes and texted Brooke the adress of the restaurant and what time to be there.

Haley was feeling a little tired, since it was getting late. She put on some music from one of her idols, Sheryl Crow, turned it up a little and stepped into her bed.

She gently laid her head on her arms as she closed her eyes, the blanked pulled over her. She quickly drifted into a dream, no, more like a nightmare, actually a flashback.

_**Haley sat on the couch at the beach house she and Chris owned, she just sat there and cried. She quickly stopped when she heard the door slam shut. Chris was home.**_

_**"Haley ? Sweety, where are you ?" He called out, from his speech Haley could hear he had been drinking again. She sighed, stood up and walked to the hallway, where Chris was waiting.**_

_**"Where have you been ?" Haley asked, angry, upsett, trying her best not to cry.**_

_**"Non of your business. Where's my dinner ?" He asked, Haley couldn't help herself, she slipped and talked back at him.**_

_**"I told you I'm not your maid. Why don't you ask one of the sluts you were with today to cook you dinner." She said, she emmediately realized she had messed up, but she didn't care, she wouldn't take it anymore.**_

_**She saw Chris' eyes widen, anger soaring through his vains, his hands balled into fists, she knew what was coming next. Whammm!! He hit her smack across the face, sending her flying across the floor. **_

_**"Don't you ever, EVER, talk back to me again!!" He yelled before hitting her over and over again. It was bad enough he cheated on her, but the hitting was too much. She wanted him to die, she really did. She knew if she didn't get out of the situation, it would eventually be him or her. Now, as she took in the beating, she thought it would be her, maybe this time she wouldn't survive.**_

_**She wouldn't mind if she died at that moment. She had no life anymore, she didn't sing anymore, hadn't sung for over 6 months. She had needed a personal break, she had told the media. But the truth was she had to stop singing because Chris made her too. He was jealous of her succes. Maybe that was one of the reasons he started to beat her.**_

Haley opened her eyes, she was sweating, her breathing was heavy. She looked at her alarm clock. It was only two in the morning.

She sighed, got out of bed, walked into the living room, turned on the tv, sat down on the couch and started zapping. She thought about her dream, or flashbacks, as she called them. No one knew the full story of what happened between her and Chris, not even Brooke. It happened a long time before she met her and she didn't want to bother her.

She told herself every day that she was over it, that it didn't effect her, but it did. She would dream about her past with Chris almost every night, especially when a guy had asked her out.

She thought about dinner later that day and about Nathan. She know it wasn't a real date and that Brooke was coming and he was bringing a friend too, but it did scare her. What if one thing led to another ? And she wound up in the same situation she had been in before ?

This was why she never ever went out with guys that weren't friends of her. She hadn't been on a date since she left Chris. _'But this isn't a date.' _She reminded herself.

She saw nothing good on tv, so she decided to watch a dvd. She couldn't go back to sleep now, not when she was already awake.

She stood up, walked to a closset, opened it and looked at the dvd's. She had more than 500 movies and tv-shows, so she had a lot of choice.

She looked through them and ended out picking out her season 1 dvd box of the show Veronica Mars. She had all three dvd boxes, but she liked season 1 the most. She liked how it all began, a girl scarred, investigating the murder of her best friend.

She put in the first dvd and started to watch the first episode of the series. About 12 episodes later, around seven o'clock, her phone rang. _'Who would be calling this early ?' _Haley thought to herself, she hoped it wasn't a work related call, she was feeling to weary to discuss that now.

"Hello ?" She spoke into her phone, waiting to hear response from the other side. But she got no answer, all she heard was someone's heavy and rapid breathing.

"Hello ? Anyone there ?" Haley asked, again, she got no response. She sighed and put the phone back on the horn.

"Weird." She said to herself as she sat back down on the couch watching the rest of her Veronica Mars episode.

She continued watching VM all day long untill about 5 o'clock, when she figured it was about time to get ready. The first thing she wanted to do was take a shower, so she switched on the water, making sure it was hot enough, but not too hot and jumped in.

The touch of the hot water against her body felt so good. She liked it when it was very hot, her skin would turn bloody red and she'd feel so safe as it made her way down her body. Like no one could touch her in that state of mind she was in.

She looked down at her stomach and saw the small, yet visable scar. She sighed and thought back at how she got it, as she always did when she saw it.

_**"You BITCH!" Chris yelled as he slapped her across the face, it wasn't as hard as other times that it would cause her to fall to the ground, but it was hard enough to leave yet another mark.**_

_**"Chris, what did I do ?" Haley asked, she was crying, she was soo tired and lonely and scared, she couldn't fight back anymore.**_

_**"I saw you eying him! I know you'd rather be with him than me!" He said as he slapped her again, she cried as she tried to talk some sence into him.**_

_**"I didn't look at him, I swear! I don't even know who he was. I only wanna be with you! Please Chris, honey, please, calm down." Haley cried, talking in between sobs, trying to grab his hand to calm him down, but he pulled away from her.**_

_**"I've had it Haley. I've had it with you and you're stupid lies." He said in a very calm tone, which scared Haley. Usually he was just angry, but never calm. She never even saw what was coming next.**_

_**He had pulled out a pocket knife from his jacket and stabbed Haley in the stomach with it. Haley fell to the ground as she cried out in pain. **_

_**She touched her stomach as she was lying on the cold floor, blood was pouring from it. He hands were covered with the red liquid coming from her own body. Slowly, she faded away, closing her eyes.**_

Haley sighed, she had been lucky she had survived that. Chris had left right after he had stabbed her, so she was able to go to the phone and call her doctor. She told him to come to her house, allone, she didn't want anyone to know.

He had said that she had lost a lot of blood and needed to go to the hospital, but she refused, begging him to help her himself. He did and thanks to him, she was still alive now. That had been 4 years ago. If only she had had the courage to leave him then. But she was scared, so she stayed with him for another 6 months.

After about 40 minutes, Haley stepped out of the shower, covered herself with a towell and looked through her closset to see what she would wear.

After throwing all her clothes on the bed, she finally found somethin, about an hour after she had gotten out the shower.

It was a black, strapless, coctail dress. A Clothes over Bros design Brooke had made especially for Haley two months ago. She hadn't found the right occasion to wear it yet, but she figured now was as good a time as any. Brooke would like it, and it seemed descent. It didn't seem to slutty or agressive, no, it seemed just right for a casual dinner party.

She put on some matching black underwear, she always wanted it to fit the clothing she was wearing, then went to put on some make-up. Not much though, just a slight touch of it, barely noticable.

She then got on her knees, looked under the bed and pulled something from underneath it. It was a small, wooden, jewelry box. She opened it, revealing a beautifull collection of golden and silver jewel necklaces, rings and bracelets. She looked through it and found the perfect one.

A small, silver bracelet. Not too fancy, but still very elegant and beautifull. Perfect for Haley, plus, she thought it would really match her dress.

She looked at her alarm clock again, it was now 10 minutes to 8. She didn't know exactly where the restaurant was located, so she would need some time to find it, even with the adress. She took her keys and her purse, locked her appartment door and headed downstairs, to her car.

She found the restaurant about 40 minutes later, which meant she was half an hour to early. She decided to go in already, it was no use sitting in her car untill it was 9. She could order a drink or something while she was inside.

The restaurant looked like crap on the outside. The only thing that seemed up to date was the Saint Luke's sign. It was glowing, the background was dark blue and the words were glowing a light blue tint.

She walked inside and was completely amazed. The interieur was amazing. It had an old look to it but yet everything was very classy and brand new. It was a beautifull restaurant.

"Not what you expected ?" Haley heard a voice say behind her, she turned around to see she was facing a very handsome Nathan Scott. He was wearing a black tuxedo, without a tie though, which suited him.

"Not really. It's very beautifull." Haley said. She had just noticed how comforting Nathan's eyes were. It was like looking into them made everything better. _'Get a grip Haley, you don't even know him. What if he's like Chris ? Besides, this is not a date.' _She told herself as she blinked her eyes.

"You're early." Nathan said, stating out the obvious, Haley smiled.

"You too." She replied, he didn't say anything, he just smiled.

"Come on, I'll take you to our table." Nathan said as he led Haley to a table of four. Haley was about to sit down, but Nathan stopped her and pulled her chair away for her, telling her she could now sit down. Once she sat down, he gently pushed her chair closer to the table, it was very sweet. He himself sat down then too.

"I didn't know you had it in you." Haley said as she looked through the wine menu.

"What ?" Nathan asked, he wasn't looking at any menu cards, he was just staring at Haley, smiling.

"Acting like a gentleman." Haley grinned, she didn't know why, but she liked to tease him. She didn't think he would get mad for that, she hoped not. She realized that she needed to have some faith, start trusting people a little more.

"I have my finer moments." Nathan smiled, he didn't know what it was, but this girl intrigued him.

"So, when is your friend coming ?" Haley asked, she hoped he hadn't forgotten to bring a friend, or she would look pretty stupid having invited Brooke.

"Oh, he's already here, he's just taking care of some business. He'll join us soon. What about your friend ?" Nathan asked, he wasn't able to take his eyes of of Haley.

"Oh, she'll probably be fashionably late, she likes to make an entrance." Haley joked, well, not really joked, cause it was the truth, but she still chuckled.

"Can't wait to meet her. Do you wanna order a bottle of wine while we wait ?" Nathan asked, Haley nodded. Nathan waved his hand and in seconds a waiter was at their table. Haley was impressed. Nathan asked for the best bottle they had.

Several minutes later, they received the wine and continued talking about little things. Most about Nathan basketball carreer and Haley singing carreer. She didn't bring up her movie, she was getting kind of tired of it being the subject of conversation every time, but she was glad that Nathan didn't bring it up either. He probably didn't know she played in a movie.

Time flew by as 9 o'clock came closer. Haley was a little dissapointed that their friends would join them, but then again, she was relieved that she would have some backup.

A young brunette in her early 20's walked into the restaurant. She was very sexy. She was wearing a red, low cut dress. She was looking around to find Haley, but before she had found her, someone else approached her.

"Hi. So, please tell me you're here to see me." The blonde man said, he was about Brooke's age and very very hot, she thought.

"Well, I wasn't at first. But, if you're offering, my dinner party can wait a little bit for me." Brooke said, she was very sexy, even as she talked.

"I own this place, I know a, well, not nice, but very private spot." He said, Brooke raised her eyebrow before smirking.

"Let's go, cowboy." She said as she took a hold of his hand as he led her through the kitchen, down a stairs. He opened a door, turned on the lights and revealed a small broom closset. It wasn't much, but it would do for Brooke.

"Perfect." She said as she pushed him in and closed the door behind her.

"You're serious about this, aren't you." The blonde guy said, a little surpised she fell for his line.

"Off course. I could use a good booty call. It's been too long, besides, you're hot as hell." Brooke said as she ripped of his shirt and started to kiss his chest.

"So... euh... wh...wha...what's you're ... name ?" Lucas asked, he was so turned on by the girl he could hardly breathe.

"Brooke. You ?" Brooke said as she continued unzipping his pants.

"Lucas." He said in between heavy breath as she moved her lips up his chest onto his mouth. He put his hands on her shoulders, slipping her dress off.

"This doesn't mean shit, okay, just a fuck, casual." Brooke said, it was all she wanted. She wasn't looking for love, all she wanted was to feel something. There was so much going on in her life that she felt like she was numb.

"Sure, casual, we'll never meet again." Lucas said as he slowly started to move into her.

At the table, Nathan and Haley were still waiting for their friends to come. It was almost 20 minutes past 9.

"I think I'll call Brooke to see where she's at." Haley said as she pulled out her phone.

"Yeah, I think I'll call Lucas too." Nathan said, Haley looked at him in a funny way.

"Lucas ? As in Saint Luke ? That's your friend ?" Haley asked, suprised he knew the owner of this place.

"Kind of, he's my brother." Nathan said as he started to dial Luke's number as Haley dialed Brooke's number.

Brooke and Lucas were still at it when both their phones started to ring.

"Shit, that's Hales." Brooke said as she reached her hand down in search for her cell phone, Lucas did the same.

"Yeah ?" Brooke said as she was still having sex with Lucas during the call.

"Brooke, it's Haley, where are you ?" Haley asked on the other side of the phone, as Nathan asked the same question to Lucas.

"Kinda busy, be up in 10. Gotta go." Lucas said as he closed his phone and threw it back on the ground, as did Brooke.

"We better finish this." Brooke said in between her breaths as she kissed Lucas even more.

"Weird." Haley said after she put her phone away.

"Tell me about it." Nathan said as he looked like he was trying to brush of some very disturbing images.

"What was weird about your phone call ?" Haley asked, looking at Nathan curiously.

"That call. Luke said he was busy and that he'd be up in 10, but he was breathing really heavily and I thought I heard a woman in the background. I think he was having..." Nathan said but Haley interrupted him.

"Sex ? I got the same impression with Brooke, and I heard a guy on the background too. You don't think they... ?" Haley said, unable to finish her sentence, it was just to weird. She knew Brooke could have the habit to pick up random guys, but at a restaurant, that wasn't like her.

"Nah... Luke's probably just busy checking on something in the kitchen." Nathan said, all though he didn't believe his own words.

"Yeah, and Brooke's probably dealing with work stuff." Haley replied, all though she didn't think so either.

Brooke had just finished putting her clothes back on as she walked to the door. Before she left, she turned around to see Lucas, still putting his shirt back on.

"So, I gotta get going, dinner party and all. It's been a pleasure." Brooke said, Lucas smiled, he didn't really know what to say to this girl. Sure, he'd been with a lot of random girls and it didn't mean a thing, but she was different.

Brooke gave him one last smile before walking out of the closet, up the stairs, back through the kitchen, finding her way back to the entrence of the restaurant. She looked around, and after a few minutes she saw Haley sitting at a table of four, talking to a guy that must be Nathan Scott.

She takes out her little mirror from her purse, checks her hair and make-up and then finally walks to Haley's table.

"Hey." She said as Haley got up and gave her a hug. Brooke let go and sat back down.

"So, you're late." Nathan said as he looked at Brooke very curiously, Brooke noticed Haley was doing the same. _'Damn it. The phone call, she heard me.' _Brooke thought but decided to play dumb and provide them with a work excuse.

"Yeah, I gut stuck dealing with a work problem. They're so lost without me." Brooke said, Haley chuckled, covering it up with a fake cough, Nathan just grinned.

Brooke looked around and saw that Lucas guy she was just with heading towards their table. Then she remembered he was the owner of the place, he probably just wanted to see if everything was as they wished for. But when he got to the table, he was very suprised to see Brooke at it.

"Brooke ?" He said, his voice filled with utter and complete confusion.

"This is your dinner party ?" Lucas asked, Brooke nodded, hoping Haley wouldn't ask how she knew him.

"Yo, Luke, don't tell me you were having, well, you know, with this girl, while I called you." Nathan said, completely grossed out. Lucas didn't answer.

"Brooke ?" Haley looked at Brooke, who just coughed and pretended to play dumb, Haley rolled her eyes.

"That's just... ewww." Haley said, Nathan nodded.

"I second that." Nathan said as he tried to block out more images of Brooke and Lucas having sex while he could hear it.

"Well I didn't know he/she would be your friend!" Lucas and Brooke said at the same time, looking at Nathan and Haley.

"I've suddenly lost my appatite. 'D You wanna go for a walk ?" Nathan asked Haley, avoiding the stunned looks of Brooke and Lucas.

"I'd love too." Haley said as she stood up and she and Nathan left the restaurant.

Lucas sat down in an empty chair as he looked at Brooke, who was looking at her hands.

"Well, here we are." Lucas said, Brooke nodded and smiled.

"Here we are. I'm here, you're here. And I'm bored. You wanna come to my place ?" Brooke asked out of the blue, kind of shocking Lucas, since she had said she wanted nothing more then that one time. But he didn't care what reason she had, he wanted her, more then he ever wanted anyone, which was strange, since he hardly knew her. He nodded.

"Sure, let's go." Lucas said, he stood up, took a hold of Brooke's hand and followed her to her car.

Nathan and Haley were walking in the park nearby Luke's restaurant. So far, sillence had ruled over them. It was awkward, so Nathan decided to speak.

"So... that was, really weird. My brother and you're friend." Nathan said, not knowing what else to talk about.

"Best friend, and yeah, pretty weird. I just hope your brother knows what he's gotten himself into. Brooke's not really one for relationship... of any kind. She's more a casual sex girl. But I have to admit, tonight suprised me, usually she doesn't pick up a guy after just saying hello. Usually she at least talks to him for an hour or 2." Haley said, it was true, what Brooke did tonight, wasn't really like her. It didn't ad up, even for a girl who had had so many one night stands.

"Oh, don't be worried about Luke, he's kind of a player." Nathan said, Haley stopped, rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"Like you ?" She asked, more like stating out the obvious to him, but he shook his head.

"No, I don't really do one night stands. That stunt on the show yesterday, with Peyton, that was nothing more than a publicity stunt." Nathan said as he shrugged and started to walk again.

"Why ? What good does it do you to have everyone think that you're this big player who only messes with girls for sex ?" Haley asks, she doesn't understand why anyone would do that.

"Because, well, if everyone sees me as a player, then they stop seeing me as the murderer's son." Nathan confessed, he didn't know why he was telling her that, he never told anyone that.

"I see, but, you never show the real you. If you stop being who you pretend to be and start being who you really are, then maybe they'll see you as something other then a murderer's son or a player. Maybe they'll see you for you. A nice, sweet, gentle guy." Haley said, she didn't mean to say that last part, it sort of slipped out.

Nathan stopped and turned to face Haley. Haley's heart began to beat faster as she looked into his eyes. There was a kindness in them that she had not seen in anyone for a very long time. It made her feel comfortable, but scared at the same time.

Nathan came closer to her, she could feel his warm breath on her skin, it made her shiver. Then, in a moments time, his lips touched her as he gently layed a kiss on her, before pulling away again.

Nathan didn't know why he just did that, he didn't think he had those kind of feelings for her. He'd only known her for a day. But she made him feel different, special. As if he were meant to do great things, greater than just basketball.

But as he looked in her eyes, he didn't saw joy, he saw confusion and fear. The last things he would have expected.

"You shouldn't have done that." Haley whispered, she was trying to hold back tears as she looked into Nathan's eyes.

"I wanted too." He said, now conjuring up a small smile, but she didn't smile.

"No, you really shouldn't have done that." Haley whispered again. Nathan was about to ask what was wrong when she suddenly turned around and started to run away.

"Haley ! Wait!" Nathan yelled, but she didn't stop running when he called her, she just kept running. She liked Nathan, a lot. But she didn't want to throw herself in a relationship. She never wanted to be with anyone again, if only to prevent the past from happening again. The past she had thought she had let go, but obviously didn't.

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**_A/N : Thank you again to everyone who reviewed, here are some of the reviews I've gotten for chapter 1 :_**

**naley19** : LOVE THIS STORY SO FAR. LOVED THE NALEY. WHY IS PEYTON A BTH? CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. UPDATE SOON!

_Author's response_ : Thank you very much, and, well, I need a btch in this story, and since Peyton fit nowhere else in it, I made her the btch. No problems against the girl, I love her on the show.

**scottjames23** : This story sounds good can't wait to read more of it.

_Author's response_ : Thank you very much, I hope you enjoy my further chapters as well.

**GottaluvNaley** : wow great start cant wait to read more Boy Peyton was a real btch. I'm glad Haley saved Nathan like that

_Author's response_ : Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked the beginning and I hope you'll enjoy the story even more as it grows.

**_A/N : Again, thank you to all who reviewed, I hope you continue to keep reviewing the story and be sure to tell me your thoughts of it and what you would like to see happen._**


	3. You Scare Me

**_A/N : Sorry for the very very short chapter, but the next will be longer and better. Thanks for reading and reviewing. It means a lot._**

**Y****ou Scare Me**

Haley had gotten home about 20 minutes ago, she had run straight to her car after Nathan had kissed her and she had driven home. She was lying on her bed, crying. She liked Nathan, she did, and obviously he liked her too, but she couldn't let the same things that happened to her when she was with Chris happen again. She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep.

_**"Hales, I'm so sorry of what I did, I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me." Chris pleaded to Haley, it had been the first day she saw him since he stabbed her two weeks ago.**_

_**"Yeah, I've heard that before. I can't take this any longer, Chris." Haley said in between sobs, she had been crying non stop since he showed up at her appartment, their appartment. She had hoped he would just dissapear.**_

_**"Please, just give me one last chance, it's all I ask. You ow me that." Chris said, his voice suddenly turning threatening. Haley was scared, she had no idea what to .**_

Haley woke up again, yet another restless night for her. She clearly remembered that day, she had only taken him back because she was scared of what he might have done if she hadn't taken him back. But from that day on, things had gotten from bad to worse.

As she thought about why she ran away from Nathan, Chris was probably the reason, he always was the reason why she held back on dating, on finding love. She hated him for making her feel so scared all the time. She wondered if she should call Nathan, give him some sort of explanation, but she was too scared to do so. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello ?" Haley asked, waiting for the person on the other side to speak.

"Euh, hey, it's Nathan. Euh, how are you ?" Nathan asked, he was wavering, Haley heard, which she didn't blame him.

"I'm good, thanks. Euh, I guess you're calling about what happened tonight ?" Haley asked, she hoped he wasn't mad or anything, she couldn't deal with that.

"Yeah, I euh, I'm sorry if I cam on too strong or anything, I certainly didn't intend on doing so. Maybe you'll give me another shot and meet me for coffée in the morning ?" Nathan asked, Haley hesitated, but then accepted to meet him at 7 o'clock. She put down the phone and tried to get some more sleep.

Meanwhile, a certain young haired brunette woke up in her bed in the middle of the night, but she was not alone. Besides Brooke Davis layed Lucas Scott. Brooke looked at him and sighed, she never brought anyone to her appartment, she never even picked someone up so fast as she had done last night, but so many things were going on in her life, that she just wanted to feel numb. But she had made a big mistake, because if she thought this would make her feel numb, she was wrong, Lucas had actually made her feel alive.

She sighed and stood up, starting to look for her underwear.

"Hey pretty girl." She heard someone behind her say, she turned around to see Lucas awake and looking at her, she smiled.

"Hey, euh, Lucas, was it ?" Brooke asked, hoping she had his name right, he nodded, confirming she was right.

"Come back to bed. It's the middle of the night, your clothes can wait." Lucas smirked as he pulled Brooke back into a kiss, he had no idea why, but he wanted her to stay in his arms for the rest of his life, or at least the rest of the night.

"Oh, you're so evil." Brooke said as she now too kissed him back, continueing their previous activity.

**TO BE CONTNUED**


	4. Author's Note

_**Author's Note:**_

_Hi, everyone. First of all, I want to apologize for the slow updates. I realize that you are waiting for new chapters and I am dissapointing you all. I just want to assure everyone that none of my stories are on hiatus (especially my beloved Twilight stories, but also the OTH ones and the Charmed one), I just have trouble writing for some. I also want to explain why I haven't been writing much lately._

_I just want to say that I love to write; it's my number one passsion, has been since I was a child. And lately I had been wondering; why? Why do I even write? Why do I do something that's not worth anything to anyone? But I realized I was acting stupid (which is nothing out of the ordinary for me) since it is worth something to someone; it's worth something to the people who follow and read every chapter with dedication for the story I write, which is simply heartwarming. I love all my readers and without you, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near this far with my writing. So, thank you. You'll never know how much all your support means to me._

_And I do it because I love it, it's as simple as that. I guess I had forgotten that somewhere along the way. I just needed a few reminders. I'll never stop writing and I will finish each story currently on my account._

_My main focus stories right now are:_

_Captivity  
__They'll Never Know  
__Concrete Angel_

_It's not because of the reviews they receive or something; it's just because I have them all worked out in my mind. So those will be updated the most, the rest will have slower updates but I will update them. I promise you. And I don't lie; if I make a promise, I stick to it. No matter how hard it may be sometimes._

_So, until I post again (which will be a story chapter). I hope you forgive me for my slow updates and I will work as hard as possible to update more from now on._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's note:**_

Hey, all. I know I promised I'd keep updating regularly and not disappear anymore, but there were things I just couldn't walk away from to write a story. My dad got sick, really sick, he almost died. He had to have this massive surgery and it was very touch and go for a while. I've been spending almost all my time with him in the hospital. He's only been home since last tuesday and he still has a lot of health problems we need to be careful off and has 3 nurses a day coming to take care of something still from the surgery. If my dad can get through this next month, through christmas and his birthday (January 1st) okay, then I'm back. If there's another setback, if he dies like they say is still a possibility due to some complications he could have, especially blood clots (he's had them before), then I don't know. I'll let you know at the beginning of January. Again, I'm very sorry, but my family is more important to me than a few stories. I love writing these stories, I do, but they're not the most important things in my life. Sometimes, you gotta set some things aside for more important things, which is what I've been doing these last months. Please bare with me for another couple of weeks, and then I'll let you know the outcome. Then I'll let you know if I'll be back or not.

Lots of love,

Lieselot.


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